Roseburg to Host Summer Collegiate Baseball Showcase
By Knight Jarecki
A new brand of baseball will touch the turf for one night only as summer collegiate baseball is coming to Roseburg for the first time.
The Douglas County Baseball Association (DCBA) announced the Springfield Drifters of the West Coast League and the Medford Rogues of the Pacific Empire League will meet for a non-league game scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at Champion Car Wash Field.
“It’s a unique opportunity to promote summer collegiate baseball in Roseburg and to help out the DCBA,” DCBA President Jake Whisler said.
Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the gate for $10 with kids ages 12 and under admitted for $5. You can learn more about the DCBA on their website.
Dubbed the I-5 Showdown, the exhibition game will serve as a fundraiser for DCBA and will feature players from different colleges and universities across the country.
“We are bringing something different and something new to the community that they can be excited about,” Whisler said. “A lot of the proceeds will go right back into our youth community here in Douglas County.”
Summer collegiate baseball has a rich history in the Pacific Northwest dating back to the mid-1960s. The West Coast League was founded in 2005 and has emerged as one of the most prestigious summer collegiate leagues in the country. It has featured teams in Klamath Falls, Medford, Springfield, Corvallis, Salem and Portland throughout its history, but never in Roseburg, where American Legion baseball thrives and has a deep history.
Legion baseball provides a development opportunity for teenage players, and Medford Rogues owner Dave May says summer collegiate leagues provide the next opportunity for growth once a player ages out.
“I believe the American Legion serves a great purpose and puts on a great product. It’s good baseball,” May said. “American Legion is 19 and under. A lot of my guys are 22 or 23, college juniors. So it’s just a little bit older of player.”
In Medford, the Rogues have provided the next step for several former Legion players in Jackson and Josephine Counties.
“We have seven local kids that played Legion baseball for the (Medford) Mustangs or (Grants Pass) Nuggets,” May said. “These local kids have aged out of Legion, but they still get to come home for the summer and sleep in their own beds that they grew up in, so I love the local aspect that we have.”
Another distinct difference is the game atmosphere. Summer collegiate teams like the Drifters and Rogues bring a professional feel from a production standpoint.
“We operate similarly to a minor league franchise. We have promotions in between innings and we are shooting off fireworks, so we are more of a show,” May said. “Outside of these guys getting paid because they are collegiate athletes, they are treated like pro athletes. They travel nicely. They are housed in good places and have good facilities. Overall, it’s very similar to pro ball, and I like that we get to bring that to Roseburg and get to show what our style is and what that next stepping stone is for these players after American Legion baseball.”
Whisler said DCBA has plans in the works to make this one-time event an entertaining night in Roseburg.
“We’re going to be doing some different things,” Whistler said. “(We’ll be) doing different promotions and games in-between innings, so it’ll give you more of a professional feel like a minor league ballpark, which is something different that our community doesn’t get going to a Docs, Pepsi or Randol game.”
The game will feature wood bats, an element that mirrors the professional game and NWAC baseball, preparing these student athletes for the next level. Additionally, each team typically plays six to seven games a week, emulating a minor league baseball schedule.
The Drifters and Rogues are both finalizing their rosters but feature talent from all over, giving this game an all-star feel.
“To have a couple of great teams with players from all across the country in your own community is pretty cool,” Whisler said.
The idea of a summer collegiate game in Roseburg came from Whisler and the DCBA board. Whisler, who played and coached in the WCL, saw an opportunity to share his love of summer collegiate baseball with the community and raise money for a good cause. The Rogues and Drifters were already discussing a potential nonleague game between the two squads and when Whisler came calling, it became the perfect fit.
“We could kill two birds with one stone. We could play the Rogues, and we could help the baseball community in Roseburg,” Springfield Drifters General Manager Barry Bokn said.
While Legion baseball is still the priority in Douglas County, Whisler said the event will gauge the community’s interest for summer collegiate baseball. Logistically, some problems would need to be solved to bring a team to Roseburg, but there is still interest outside of the region in putting a team in Douglas County.
“There’s not a lot of room right now. Our youth programs, numbers-wise, are as big as they’ve ever been. So if you did bring a summer collegiate team to Roseburg, they would have to play at Champion. Now you’re moving a team or two somewhere else, so there would have to be a couple of things that happen for that to go, but why not give it a shot and see if our community is receptive to it.”
May, who is very vocal about wanting to put a Pacific Empire League team in Roseburg, feels the I-5 Showdown is a great opportunity to share summer collegiate baseball with the Roseburg community and give Douglas County residents a taste of what they could have in the future.
“The mission is to showcase what Roseburg could have,” May said. “Whether that’s with us or WCL. Just to showcase that this is out there. That summer collegiate baseball is an option for your community.”
“I think that’s a fantastic market for summer collegiate baseball. They love American Legion and baseball, and I think the town would support it really well.”
The chances of adding a summer collegiate team in Roseburg is left to be seen, but May hopes this is the first of many summer collegiate games played at Champion Car Wash Field.
“I want to make this an annual thing,” May said. “If Roseburg doesn’t end up with a summer collegiate team and that’s not in the cards, I would love to play Springfield every year in Roseburg and give them a taste of what we are doing.”
May is hopeful he can get the Douglas County fans to root for the Rogues. “We’re the home team, so we want those Roseburg fans to be cheering us on.”
Bokn is leaning on some local names to draw support for the Drifters: “We have AJ Victoravich and Noah Cox on our team from Umpqua Community College.”
Either way, whether you’re supporting the home team or the hometown kids, you’re bound to make new memories at the I-5 Showdown.
